The Dallas Stars came into this game against the Columbus Blue Jackets looking to gain the two points and have hope for their post season. But with Detroit topping the Nashville Predators with a 5-2 win, the game against the Blue Jackets would no longer matter. The Stars will now close out the regular season against the Detroit Red Wings and look to use their off-season to not only get stronger but find a few new pieces to the puzzle that they hope will make a contending play-off team in the 2013-2014 season.

First Period:

It would only take 19 seconds for Columbus to get on the board with a shot from Cam Atkinson, assisted by Blake Comeau and Brandon Dubinsky. Soon after at 6:54 Eric Nystrom would drop the gloves with defencemen Dalton Sprout with Nystrom clearly landing the better of punches. Both would sit for the next five as their respective teams battled to stay alive. At the end of the first the Stars would be outshot 12-10.

Second Period:

With the Stars future still up in the air the team would come back to play their hardest like every night. They would tie the game on a power play goal from Jamie Benn, with the assists going to Eric Cole and Ray Whitney at 8:43 in the period. This time the period would end with the stars out shooting the Blue Jackets 15-10 for a two period total of 25-22.

Third Period:

It would be during the second intermission that Stars coaching staff would learn of Detroits win. But the team come back for the third ready to do what it takes and keep on fighting, but Columbus would take the lead with two power play goals. The first at 7:56 in the period with Stephane Robidas in the box for inference, from Mark Letestu and Brandon Dubinsky. And again late in the period with Eric Nystrom in the box for interference, the Blue Jackets would take a 3-1 lead at 18:20 with Cam Atkinson scoring his second of the night from Jack Johnson and Dalton Prout.

Notes:

- Head coach Glen Gulutzan said in the press conference that coaching staff knew of Detroits win after the second.

- He also said that players were not told, and locker room TVs were all off, but seems to think a majority of them had found out from other media outlets.

- Aaron Rome was out of the line up as he has  been battling a hip issue that will require surgery to repair.

The Stars are completing the fifth of nine back to back sets tonight as they are in Columbus to take on the Blue Jackets. The Stars have not been able to shake the second game in back to back monkey as they have only won one of those games in the past since last season and are winless in four attempts this season. Columbus comes into tonights game with a lot of injuries including Brandon Dubinsky and James Wisniewski. Richard Bachman got the call in net for the Stars and wasn’t great, but made the necessary saves to help guide the Stars to an overtime victory.

First Period

Dallas looked like the team that hadn’t played the night before in the first period, they came ready to play and were on top of the Blue Jackets from puck drop. They outshot the Blue Jackets  14-5 and got on the scoreboard first at the 15:00 mark of the period as Brenden Morrow was driving the net and a shot towards the net from Cody Eakin went off Morrow’s skate and past Sergei Bobrovsky. Dallas took a 1-0 lead into the intermission.

Second Period

Dallas played a much better second period discipline wise compared to the last night’s game in Nashville taking no penalties in the period, but still played some questionable defense at times. Columbus scored at the 1:21 mark off a clean faceoff win by Mark Letestu to Fedor Tyutin, who passed to Nikita Nikitin for a one timer pass Richard Bachman.  Dallas responded at the 5:28 mark as Derek Roy scored his second goal of the season giving Dallas back their lead. In less than a minute  Columbus tied the game again as Derek Dorsett scored off a scramble in front of the Dallas net for his third goal of the season. Shortly after Dallas scored again, this time Antoine Roussel tipped a point shot from Brenden Dillon past Bobrovsky for his fourth goal of the season. Dallas outshot the Blue Jackets 10-9 and took a 3-2 lead into the intermission.

Third Period

Dallas was not able to put the Blue Jackets away in the third, it always seemed to be one misplay on defense that allowed Columbus back into the game. Cam Atkinson scored his second goal of the season at the 6:16 mark of the period. Dallas thought they had the game winner at the 13:36 mark when Cody Eakin shot a harmless wrist shot towards the net and Bobrovsky lazily tried to save it with his glove and it trickled off him and into the net. It wasn’t until the 18:34 mark the Blue Jackets tied the game as RJ Umberger got the goal that would force overtime between the two teams.

Overtime

Dallas controlled the puck well for the majority of overtime and got the only three shots on net. The winner came from Loui Eriksson at the 3:03 mark of overtime and made it a highlight worthy play scoring with his skates off the ice. Dallas defeated Columbus 5-4 in overtime.

Game Extras

• 2-15-3 the Stars are in the second game of back to backs now under Glen Gulutzan.
• Antoine Roussel drew back into the lineup tonight and registered a goal and assist giving him points in four of his last five games and tied for third in goals for the Stars so far.
• Official three stars of the game chosen by Media Panel: 1. Loui Eriksson 2. Antoine Roussel 3. Mark Letestu
• The Stars return home Thursday to face the Edmonton Oilers for the final time this year, puck drop at 7:30

Photo by: Doug Pensinger

Jamie Benn made his season debut for the stars after signing a five-year $26.25 contract. He joined his brother Jordie and picked up one assist, two shots on goal and four penalty minutes along with 20:47 of ice time.

First period:

Despite Columbus having three power play oppertunities in the period, the scored remained 0-0. Dallas’ had a great short-handed chance from Cody Eakin to Loui Eriksson but was just wide of the net. The Stars out shot the Blue Jackets 9-3.

Second Period:

The Dallas Stars scored first with a power play goal by Philip Larsen at the 4:13 mark in the period.

But the Stars would get into a bit of trouble with penalties, giving the Blue jackets a full 2:00 five-on-three power play with Vernon Fiddler getting called for Hooking and High sticking, and then Tom Wandell being called for closing his hand on the puck.

But with great goaltending by Kari Lehtonen the Stars kept the lead until Derek Dorsett scored with 2:13 left in the period.

Third Period:

Columbus scored the final and game winning point just 1:22 into the third period with a goal from Vinny Prospal.

The Stars had several good chances to tie up the game but were shutdown by goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.

The Stars are now 2-3-1 for the season, and travel to Detroit to take on the Red Wings Tuesday night.

Kari Lehtonen stopped 25 out of 27 shots.

Photo by: Warren Wimmer/Icon SMI

It was the home opener for the Detroit Red Wings as they welcomed the 1-1-0  Dallas Stars to the Joe Louis Arena. The Red Wings defeated the Stars in all four meetings last year and many of them were blowouts. Detroit was on the second night of a back to back, as they played the Columbus Blue Jackets Monday night and defeated them in overtime.

First Period

The first period opened up as a skating match between the two teams as Detroit looked rejuvenated even though they had just went to a shootout last night against the Blue Jackets. Both teams were creating great offensive chances in each zone, but goaltenders Kari Lehtonen and Jimmy Howard let the fans know tonight would be a goaltenders’ duel. At the 5:41 mark of the first period Michael Ryder found some room open in the top of the slot and fired a wrist shot past Red Wing goalie Jimmy Howard. The puck at first looked like it was tipped by defenseman Trevor Daley, but replay showed that it missed Daley’s stick, assist on the goal went to Brenden Morrow and primary assist to new second line centerman Cody Eakin. The period continued on as the Stars and Red Wings continued to trade offensive chances. At the 14:45 mark of the first, Stars defeneseman Brenden Dillon took an interference minor and gave Detroit their first powerplay opportunity of the game. The Stars were able to kill off the penalty and the period later ended with the Stars ahead 1-0.

Second Period

No goals were scored in the second period, but Dallas really put the pressure on Detroit. Detroit forwards Kyle Quincy and Damien Brunner took early period minors that gave the Stars almost four consecutive minutes of power play time. Jimmy Howard had an answer for every Dallas shot, but forwards from the first two lines put lots of shots on net as the Stars outshot the Red Wings in the second period 17-7. Through two periods the Stars were outshooting the Red Wings 26-20 and winning 1-0.

Third Period

Dallas looked to put the game away in the third period. At the 5:34 mark of the third Michael Ryder got his second goal of the game as the second line set Ryder up for a great shot including primary assist to Ray Whitney and secondary assist to Cody Eakin. After the Ryder goal the Stars had one more premium chance to score as Reilly Smith almost netted his first NHL goal, but from the second Ryder goal until the end of the game it was all Detroit in the final frame as they peppered Kari Lehtonen with twenty third period shots and ending the game with a total of 40 shots on goal. Kari Lehtonen had an answer for all but one as Detroit rookie Damien Brunner scored on Lehtonen with three seconds left in the game. The Dallas Stars defeated the Detroit Red Wings 2-1.

Game Extras

• Mentioned earlier Cody Eakin took over the second line center position switching with Tom Wandell who was moved to the fourth line.
• Dallas first line of Eriksson, Roy and Jagr who combined for two shots last game against Minnesota combined for fourteen shots on goal tonight as they were very active in the offensive zone.
• Dallas Stars forward Reilly Smith faced off, against his older brother Brendan Smith who is a defenseman for the Detroit Red Wings
• One reason for Dallas missing the postseason in 2012 was allowing too many shots on goal. Kari Lehtonen in both of his starts has faced at least 40 shots on goal.
• Official three stars of the game: 1. Kari Lehtonen 2. Michael Ryder 3. Jimmy Howard
• The Stars next game will be Thursday in Dallas against the Chicago Blackhawks puckdrop at 7:30

Adam Pineault being interviewed (Photo credit to Todd Miller)

After the Allen American vs. Arizona Sundogs game, Keep Dallas Pesky caught up with forward Adam Pineault to ask him about the season, his goals, and his journey from the NHL to the Allen Americans, and how he is striving to get back to his NHL career. For those who haven’t heard Adam left the Columbus Blue Jackets for a season to be with his wife Monique as she went through her battle with leukemia. And after going through a bone marrow transplant and numerous doctor visits she is thankfully doing much better.

This will be his first full season with the Americans, as he only played three games with them in 2011-2012. He spent his summer getting back into shape and ready for the new season.  Saying that “you can only do so much in the gym, but once you get back on the ice you realize how different it is, and it was kind of a wake up call”.  And even now he is still trying to get to 100%. Adam described his role for the new season with the Allen Americans as wanting to be an all-around player that goes out there and helps the team out on the scoreboard but can also be a good defensive player. Which he has done exceptionally well thus far and I’m sure he will continue to do so. He shared some of his thoughts on not having to deal with the lockout saying “Yeah they’ve got some issues they need to work out over there, and it is fun to come here and be able to play hockey that’s for sure”.  And as to when this lockout will end? Who knows, but he is sure to see several known NHL players on the ice.

Whether they are on the opposing team or the Americans, I for one will look forward to watching him get back to the NHL, maybe even become a Dallas star but for now watching he and the Americans play is by far an entertaining and inspiring thing. This only goes to say that while there may be obstacles that you have to go through, you can always reach your dreams even if it is for a second time.

With the help of both me and Kristen Perez, we were able to write this article together about Adam Pineault of the Allen Americans.

Follow us both on twitter at @missyndallas and @kristenperez419 along with our main twitter account @KeepDallasPesky

Ryley Grantham (Photo Credit: 5of7/Flickr)

Allen got a little tougher with the signing of 6’3″ 207lb Forward Ryley Grantham today.  Grantham also comes to Allen via the defunct ECHL Chicago Express.  He began his pro career in the AHL with the Abbotsford Heat, playing there in 09-10 but splitting time with the Heat and the ECHL Utah Grizzlies in 10-11. In 11-12 he split time between the ECHL Gwinnett Gladiators and the ECHL Chicago Express.

Grantham is a tough customer and shows it here in a fight with former San Jose Shark/Columbus Blue Jacket Defenseman Craig Rivet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXf0__dj5hY&feature=youtu.be

Official statement from Head Coach Steve Martinson:

“Ryley Grantham is a tough physical forward with great hands, I expect him to score goals, make plays, and be a tough forward to play against.”

Grantham will certainly add to the deep forward core of the Americans but they still need some blueliners to ink some deals.  Training camp for the Americans opens on October 8th.

Jamie Benn (Photo taken by Melissa Grissom)

Everyone here at Keep Dallas Pesky would like to wish Jamie Benn a very happy 23^rd birthday today. He was born in Victoria, Canada in 1989, which is where he found his love for the game at a young age.

He came through the Canadian leagues before being drafted a remarkable 129^th overall by the Dallas Stars in 2009. He made his mark early, by recording 41 points in his rookie NHL season, and has scored 56 and 63 since then. In the 2011/12 campaign he established himself as the Stars’ number 1 forward and played with a lot of finesse on the ice. Jamie’s success last season earned him an All-Star spot to represent team Chara in Ottawa. Benn showed everyone what he was about by winning the accuracy shooting competition in style.

We all hope that Jamie has a great day today and that he has a big season alongside several new recruits next season! Happy birthday Jamie! Check out this beauty of a goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets.